SEPANG, June 2, 2010 : Despite having had to deal with numerous setbacks in the recent races, Malaysian 125cc MotoGP rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin is not daunted by the challenges he faced.
 
The 18 year-old rider will be riding on towards the Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona this weekend in his quest for the yet elusive points , and remains optimistic as to his performance.
 
“I will keep on giving my very best in each and every race, and I know that I will be improving my performance. But it has not been an easy road,” said Zulfahmi.
 
“I know that I still have many things left to learn about the rigours of racing in international circuits. It is an exciting learning experience for me, and this is a challenge that I am willing to face.
 
“I consider myself very lucky because the team have been very supportive and have been giving their 100 per cent.
 
They are part of the reason why I keep pushing myself to do better, to work harder and to give my best in each and every race,” said the AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit Team rider.
 
In his first outing as a MotoGP 12cc contender this year, the young rider have had to battle with mechanical malfunctions, not to mention having to deal with the different weather conditions and challenging, unfamiliar tracks.
 
“It’s not easy racing against others who have had years of experience, but I am confident that, with some hard work and faith, I will be able to do justice to the hopes and dreams of my family and my country,” he said.
 
The Circuit de Catalunya in Spain is home to the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix and the motorcycle Catalonia Grand Prix. The circuit’s layout presents numerous challenges, which may also include trial-by-wind as the wind direction at the circuit is liable to drastic changes throughout the day, with gusts ranging from two to 12 miles per hour.
 
SIC CEO Razlan Razali said “Similar to Jerez, the Catalunya circuit is considered as a home Grand Prix for most riders. It’s going to be tough and extremely competitive. I think we can expect many wildcards from the Spanish CEV which is the most competitive 125cc Championship in the world.
 
“This race will further strengthen Fahmi's mental and physical condition. Our expectation is still the same from Round 1, which is to improve on his lap times, right from the very first moment when Fahmi gets on the circuit to qualifying in the race.
 
We are confident that Fahmi is able to cope and we’d like him to have as much fun as possible."
 
AirAsia Group CEO Dato’ Sri Dr. Tony Fernandes said "It will be another challenge for Fahmi at the Catalunya race this weekend but we have faith in him.  He is clearly a talented rider, though having much less experience then the other bikes on the circuit, he can only keep learning and improving his skills at every race.  We at AirAsia are behind him, as are Malaysians.  We wish him all the best for Barcelona."
 
AirAsia partners Sepang International Circuit in forming Team AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit, to showcase Asean talents on the world stage. The team believes Asean has a lot of untapped motorsport talents, but limited opportunities are available to help them shine. This joint effort hopes to provide the platform for these talents to unleash their potential.